Remains stolen from graveyard still not returned

A Hope Mills couple is still holding out hope their son's stolen remains will be returned.Last month, someone stole 29-year-old Charlie Jones' cremated remains from a Fayetteville cemetery.

Diane and Charles Jones say the past few weeks have been hopeful and heartbreaking.

"We are still hoping that somebody will bring us the ashes," Diane Jones said. "We are not interested in prosecuting anybody; we just want the ashes back."

The Jones' only son died a year ago this past August.

His parents put his cremated remains in a burial stone. But four weeks ago, Diane Jones found a gaping hole in the rock, her son's remains, the metal cylinder they were in and a brass name-plate, all gone.

The Jones say after ABC11 first broadcasted their story, they were overwhelmed with support from the community. At the burial stone, people have left all kinds of mementos, stuffed animals, candles and flowers. But what the Jones say what they need is their son's remains back.

"We have sent some things out on Nixel, Facebook and we are doing a lot of social media things," Fayetteville Police Spokesperson Dan Grubb said.

Police say a flurry of publicity has generated few leads, but they hope a reward gets someone talking.

"A lot of times in these cases, someone has talked about it, or said something maybe at a party or bragged about it and we are hoping that somebody may have been in that kind of situation and may have overheard something" Grubb said.